After stumbling again in the summer months, the U.S. economy is clearly back on track, if politicians smarten up and prevent it from going over the fiscal cliff.

The recovery is also now being led by the housing industry, which is a particularly good omen. The two main driving forces of the economy have traditionally been the housing and auto industries. That makes sense since when those industries are healthy their good fortune pays forward to their suppliers and peripheral industries like furniture and appliance makers.